


Six Months

by thedarkofnight84



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence, Protective Thorin, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 15:25:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6334294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedarkofnight84/pseuds/thedarkofnight84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin, Fili, and Kili in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Months

_**August** _

It came out of nowhere. Thorin didn’t even see the thing, he _heard_ it. Heard that high pitched scream, the one that for months has brought fear to him and his nephews. He didn’t even have time to react, to pull out his gun or even run.

A gunshot echoed through the abandoned grocery store and the thing fell to the ground with one final wretched shriek. He looked up and saw Fili standing there, gun in hand, eyes wide as saucers. To think that a few months ago, Fili had been your average high school student, worrying about Algebra exams and girls and football games.

Now, here they were, in the middle of God-knows-where (Tennessee? Virginia?), scavenging for food. The grocery store they had found had broken windows everywhere, having already been ransacked by others. Fili lowered his gun and walked over to Thorin, carefully avoiding the dead thing on the ground. Kili was right behind him, gun in hand, looking around nervously. 

“If there was one, there could be others,” whispered Kili. “Anyone find anything good?” 

Thorin bent over to pick up his box of goods. “Not much,” he whispered back, pointing at a few boxes of cookies and some canned goods. 

“I found some batteries!” said Fili, holding up some packages of assorted batteries. This was quite a find, as batteries for their flashlights had been hard to come by as of late. 

“Let’s keep moving, I don’t want anything else sneaking up on us,” said Thorin, wrapping one arm around Kili while holding his box of goods in another. 

They quietly made their way outside to their Radio Flyer wagon, which was full of their possessions. Everything they had was on that little red wagon as well as their backpacks. As they made their way down the street, wagon in tow, they kept their guns in their hands.

 

 

_**October**_  

Thorin quietly made his way around the sleeping forms of Kili and Fili and settled in the big armchair. They had gotten quite lucky finding this house. It was in livable condition and was pretty well stocked. 

Thorin doesn’t recall how long they have been here – a month, maybe? It’s getting harder for him to keep up with the date, or time for that matter. It’s a continuous pattern of daytime and nighttime, with very little to keep them occupied. 

He never speaks of it, but he wonders exactly what the future holds for them. He gets these momentary thoughts, unspeakable thoughts, where he wonders what the point of it all is. They survived another day, but what will happen tomorrow, or a couple of days later? He sometimes thinks it’s pointless to live like this, uncomfortable and scared and uncertain. He’s thought about suicide, but only fleeting thoughts, when it’s nighttime and quiet and he’s left watching Kili and Fili sleep. 

He’s tired, he rarely sleeps. Subconsciously, he feels like he’s always alert, always listening and waiting for the moment when those…those things…will attack them and it will be all over. He worries about Kili and Fili, about losing his nephews. He worries about something happening to him…then what would the two brothers do? They are still so young. 

He wonders if one of them got bit, what would they do? Would they have what it takes to kill one of their own blood? Even if they are turned into something else? If Kili or Fili, God forbid, turned into one of them, could he pull the trigger? 

He never speaks of this, but at night it’s these thoughts that keep him awake.

 

 

_**December**_  

The three of them walk down the road. It’s cold, and they are wrapped up in as much clothing as possible. Fili is pulling on the wagon while Thorin juggles his backpack and Kili’s weight on him. Kili had twisted his ankle awhile back, but they had to keep moving south to avoid the cold. They were barely moving against the wind, the weight of it all just too much for the three. 

“We have to stop for a bit,” said Thorin, voice raspy from lack of use and the general fatigue that was consuming him. 

Kili plopped down in the middle of the road, groaning and massaging his foot. “I’m so sorry, I’m slowing everyone down,” he said. 

Fili let go of the wagon and wrapped his coat around himself a little tighter. He could barely make out a couple of houses down the road, and hoped that they would find refuge there instead of danger. The bullets they had collected at the beginning of all this weren’t going to last forever. 

“We should try to enter those houses down the road. Kili needs to rest. We all do,” Fili said, feeling a wave of sudden anxiety. His brother was injured, and they were cold and tired. They needed to rest and they needed warmth. He didn’t know how much longer they could keep going like this. 

Thorin grabbed the wagon and began to pull it. “You help your brother,” he said to Fili. 

They slowly made their way down the road. It was still light out, but it was cold and dreary. Thorin knew they had to hurry and get off the road before dark. 

As they made their way to the houses, something caught Thorin’s eye. Movement. 

He slowed down and pulled out his gun from the waistband of his pants. “Stop,” he whispered to his nephews.

The two stopped dead in their tracks, also reaching for their weapons. 

“Something’s there,” said Thorin, a sudden surge of adrenaline rushing through him. He hoped that he had not led his nephews to danger, knowing that there was nowhere to run and hide here, not to mention that Kili could barely walk. “Stay where you are, I’m going to get closer.” 

He made his way to the house, a white one story country home. It was old, the paint was peeling and the weeds around it overgrown, but otherwise it looked to be in good condition. 

His heart was thumping in his chest, finger on the trigger of his gun. He made his way through the weeds and got to a window. He looked inside and saw a human staring back at him. A short man, with curly hair and a frightened look on his face. He had a letter opener in his hand, which he began to wave around, yelling at Thorin to “stay back!” Under normal circumstances, Thorin would’ve laughed at the absurdity of this man challenging him with a letter opener when he had a loaded gun in his hand. 

Thorin raised his weapon. “It’s okay! I’m a human! I need assistance, my nephew is hurt!” 

The man stopped waving his knife. He got closer to the window and looked around. 

“It’s just me and my two nephews. They are 16 and 13. Can you help us? Please? We have some provisions, I am more than willing to barter with you,” said Thorin. 

So it was that the man – Bilbo – walked out and helped the three inside, backpacks and wagon and all. 

It had turned dark, and Kili was asleep stretched out on a sofa. Fili, Thorin, and Bilbo sat nearby, talking quietly. 

They learned that it was December already, that the zombies had first appeared six months ago. Bilbo had seen the news on the TV, had seen the big cities fall first. Internet and phones were down a few weeks later, as well as TV. His neighbors had decided to evacuate, and Bilbo was left on his own. So far out in the country, he had yet to actually see one of the foul creatures. 

Thorin and his nephews were the first people he had come across in months. He considered himself lucky, and so far still had food (he had gone to his neighbor’s homes and grabbed all the food and supplies he could find) and candles (he draped the windows at night with dark fabric to keep the home looking dark).

“Thank you so much for helping us,” said Thorin. “You seem to be better equipped than us, but we must repay you in some way.”

“Nonsense,” said Bilbo, waving his hands. “I’m just glad that you all ended up here. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one left.” 

“We have come across others, but some are desperate for food or supplies and will do anything to get them,” said Fili. “We learned that it’s better if we keep to ourselves.” 

“Where are you headed?” asked Bilbo. 

Fili and Thorin looked at each other and shrugged. “We were making our way south because of the cold. I suppose once it warms up we’ll head back north?” said Thorin. 

“You will stay with me as long as you’d like,” answered Bilbo. “At least until Kili is able to walk.” 

Fili and Thorin began to protest. Bilbo waved his hands around and said “Quiet, quiet. No arguments from you two. Tomorrow we will have a nice Christmas dinner, I insist. I have a few cans of soup. We can have a warm, wonderful meal.” 

“Tomorrow’s Christmas?” exclaimed Fili, sounding like a kid again instead of the young man he had become, with too many responsibilities on his shoulders and a weapon next to him. They really had been unaware of what the date was. 

“Yes, my dear boy, and we will try to celebrate as best we can. I’m sure Kili will be eager to have a nice dinner, too,” said Bilbo, smiling. 

Thorin yawned at this point, unable to help himself. His body was tired and sleep was overtaking him. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept. 

“Mr. Thorin, why don’t you rest for a while? Fili and I will keep watch for tonight,” said Bilbo, looking him straight in the eye. “Why, you’re about to fall over from exhaustion!” 

Bilbo led him to a bedroom and pulled out some blankets from a closet. “Please, sleep for a while. You will be no use to your nephews if something happens to you.”

Thorin gladly accepted the blankets and watched as Bilbo walked out of the room. He took off his dirty pants and shirt and slipped into bed, placing his gun on the nightstand next to the bed. He heard Bilbo and Fili whispering out in the living room, and eventually shut his eyes. Finally, he fell into a deep sleep, content with knowing that someone was keeping an eye on Fili and Kili. Tomorrow would be a new day.


End file.
